Taking into account re-occurring illnesses, last minute train nightmares, new jobs and the odd broken bone, 18 swimmers and a couple of coaches trooped up to Manchester for this year's long course GB champs. Here are the highlights.

Otter First-timers
Congrats go to first-time masters swimmers Michelle Senecal and Catherine Couquet, who seemed to handicap themselves a little - Michelle by entering some of the toughest events going, including the 200fly, and Catherine by swimming with a chest infection. Nonetheless, they both came away with a fist full of medals each, along with a new set of masters pbs. Well done girls!

Record Breaking
The legend that is Derek Parr appeared to have got his taper just right this year. He wasn't put off when he swum his slowest ever 50m fly the weekend prior to Manchester, and flew through the 200fly, breaking his own GB and European records to set a new standard of 2.48.31.

Breaststroke
Much discussion had been had regarding who would end up the Otter br queen. Captain Fiona had been undisputed since Lucy Ryan decided motherhood was for her, however, since Ruth Morrison had taken up training, it looked like she could be challenged. First up was the 50br, which saw Fiona taking the glory by 0.2, along with first in her age with 35.63. Then came the 200br, when Ruth romped home to victory.  Ruth laid down an impressive 1.19.41 for Fiona to chase in the following heat; she came close, but it wasn't quite to be (1.19.81). Overall, the girls claimed the 1st and 2nd places in all the br events - a slight otter dominance, along with being very entertaining for the crowd! Liz Shaw put in another fine display in the br, coming away with 3 pbs and 2 sliver medals. And none other than El Presidente Roger Sharpley showed that, even with slightly sporadic training, he can still pull it out with a 1.33.49 in 100br and a silver medal.

Backstroke
With Ben Thomas and Gina Hobson not able to compete this year, the backstroking was left to the more experienced members of the team. One of the best Otter head-to-heads was Ted Evans’ and Tony Ray’s tussle in the 50bk. Tony started strongly and led at 25m, but then Ted began to reel him in, and with a final surge over the last 15m seized the win. Ted won his age, and Tony got a bronze. A great race.

Butterfly
Lauren Edwards continued with her trademark ‘pick an event at random and have a go’ and chose the 100fly. She posted a 1.15.42, was very happy, and declared that she may even do it again, although after the 50 she wasn’t so sure, having been beaten by one-time friend Rhiannon Guy, who pb’d an impressive 33.40, and who has now disappeared off to China for 12 months. She will be no doubt posting a few virtual times while she’s over there. Fiona completed both the 50 and 100 (1.11.73), with her 50 showing she is a true sprinter with a speedy pb of 31.47 and a bronze medal. Dr Freelove also took on the 100 and 50 double, and with pbs in both, including a 1.05 in the 100, he was deservedly bouncing off the walls. 

Frontcrawl
In the distance fc, sprinter supreme, Sue Hill, decided she fancied a change and opted for the 800 and 1500. The negative split in her 800 showed she swam cautiously (but who can blame her?!), and she still picked up 2 silvers. Roger Lloyd-Mosten made a winning return to the pool after an 18 month sabbatical, posting 24.59.60 in the 1500m fc, and securing gold. Mike Wake, who was a little unconvinced of his own swims, took on the 800, 400 and 200 fc, picking up 3 silvers, which is nothing to grumble about!

In the 50m Jason Parrish earned the fastest Otter award with a blistering 27.21, with Fiona picking up the female equivalent in 28.70 and 2nd in her age. Jason also stormed the 100m in 58.94, gaining a bronze medal. 

Individual Medley
Only the truly dedicated signed up for the IM. Lauren and Ted took on the 200m, scoring a 3rd and 2nd in their ages, respectively, with a pb for Lauren in 2.45.90. And then Lesley Davis did the 400. She stormed through to a 7.48.75. Respect and congrats! 

Relays
Once more the ladies 120+ relay team was dominant, scoring 1sts in both events, and coming very close to breaking our own GB record in the fc. We also learnt that Lauren is not keen on 50bk, and that Fiona can turn her hand to any sprint. The mens 200+ team were also dominant, if you exclude the other, some might say cheating, club! The mixed 120+ saw off all challengers in the fc, securing 1st, but had to be content with silver in the medley. 

The Fastest Reaction Time
With Gina and James Palmer out of the running for the fastest start award, a new champion was going to be crowned. Lauren Edwards ended up on top with a 0.65 for her now legendary 50m bk relay swim (she also scored a 0.77 from the standing start). Mention should also go to Ted Evans, who I'm sure won't mind me saying is in his 71st year, and who posted a 0.71 for his bk relay start, showing age is no excuse for a slow start!!

The Swim of the Meet
In 3rd place comes coach turned swimmer, Ruth Morrison, with some fine breaststroking, her 2.54.60 in the 200br being the favourite. In 2nd, Jane McMenemy made up for the 3 times she's clocked 5mins dead for the 400m fc, and stormed through in 4.57.65 to smash the 5min barrier. And in 1st, Dr Freelove blew both his long and short course pbs out of the water with an incredible 1.05.75 for the 100 fly.

Top Club and the Medal Table
This year the ASA re-instated the Top Club award. The points system favoured the biggest club, but in true Otter spirit we were determined to put up a good fight. Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to be able to touch Spencer, so we had to be content with fighting off the Royal Navy and Swindon Dolphins and secure 2nd. It certainly added another dimension to the races, and Captain Marshall was even more ferocious in her maintenance that everyone swam all their races - it paid off, with the final scores being Spencer 271, Otter 164 and the Navy 155. Well done team. Overall, Otter boasted 15 gold, 23 silver, and 15 bronze medals, along with Derek's fantastic GB and European record in the 200 fly. Not bad for 18 swimmers.

Finally...
Thanks to Coach Ross who provided his wisdom. Good luck to the team going to Stanford for the World Masters Champs in August. And, for the rest, the programme for Sheffield (27th to 29th Oct) has been released (although it doesn't appear to be online yet). Mark the date in your diary. We want to have the biggest Otter team yet to take on Spencer!!